Ludacris Shows His Serious Side Alyse Knorr______His Current Lifestyle

The Pendulum ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Thursday, December 7, 2006 • Page 23 Ludacris shows his serious side Alyse Knorr_______ his current lifestyle. jail is not a place you want to be,” Bridges said. Editor Money Maker,” the most successful If “Do Your Time” is the most political single off the album, feels like the Ludacris ly intense song on the album, then “Slap” is Southern rapper Chris “Ludacris” we know and love best- playful, catchy the most emotionally intense. Bridges sets Bridges released his fifth album, “Release lyrics with an easy beat to dance to. his audience on edge with his lyrics, and Therapy,” last September, marking his third Mouths to Feed” has powerful lyrics that the slow beat and electric guitar effects number one album in a row and one of his get political, expressing the pressure that intertwined throughout the song add an Host serious accomplishments as an artist. comes with having a family to support uneasy feeling. However, “Release Therapy” has been People can relate to that,” Bridges said. “‘Slap’ was getting my views in and iiuch more than just a hit seller for this 28- A lot of people have mouths to feed and being in certain situations when you get so year-old hip-hop artist. that’s their motivation.” angry you want to slap the hell out of “It’s my classic album,” Bridges said. “It’s Tell It Like It Is” sounds like the Bridges someone,” Bridges said, hinting at his per •he most honest album, and it’s very personal.” in Step Back ’- blunt and honest about his sonal problems with Bill O’Reilly as a Bridges hop)ed to show a more serious complaints with the music industry: “See, potential inspiration. side of himself on this effort, noting that mostly all your favorite artists got some seri “Runaway Love” features Mary J. Blige although many of his songs are playful, he ous problems.. .crabs wiU try to sue ya, mag- in the hook and tells the story of three little Sloped to investigate more mature topics and Mmes will misquote ya, most of these label- girls, aged 9-11, and the problems that they show some of the darker aspects of life. ds, they don’t care nothin’ about ya.” deal with as they grow up. This is an “A lot of different things influenced it- life In War With God,” Bridges vents about incredibly powerful track. Bridges’ honesty Experiences really influenced it,” Bridges said. Pfioto courtesy ot MCI C a m ^ the mdustry some more, this time, attacking shines through in the lyrics as he desperate For Bridges, the album’s title reflects specific rappers, though never by name, and Ludacris has been producing consistent, ly seeks the attention of his audience. good music since his debut in 1999. lûch of what the project meant for him- a their lifestyles. Many have speculated' that “This song is a staple,” Bridges said. *^>nd of therapeutic release. Ae song is about T.I., with whom Bridges has “Freedom of Preach” rounds the album ing a more serious side of himself with “Music is kind of a release for every- been fightmg for some time now up with the obligatory religious refer “Release Therapy.” Whether the rapper ^ y ,” he said. “It frees the soul from The most politically-charged track on the ences. The song mainly consists of a continues this evolution toward even more '■^prisonment. Music is an escape, and record. Do Your Time,” covers touchy top prayer from Bridges asking for forgive maturity and altruism remains debatable. •hat’s what this album is all about.” ics rangmg from racism to____ religion to prison. ness for his sins and offering thanks for “I focus on what the hell I’m doing,” Bridges In “Grew Up a Screw Up,” Bridges com- Bridges speaks out boldly 'ateut an^hi'g God’s interventions in his life, one of said. “I look forward. I don’t look back.” *^'nes a slower beat and swaggering vocals and everything in this intense song which includes keeping his mother safe "'ith autobiographical lyrics comparing the It s talking about black males woiking when she wrecked his Escalade. 'Childhood and adolescence he grew up in to hard and trying to get people to understand that Contact Alyse Knorr at [email protected] Overall, Bridges has succeeded in show- or 278-7247. ‘Fountain’ is both stunning and disappointing ^drew Prince ______ sphere,Sphere, min some othernth..r ____ * ^ time, traveling reminded of this film and its ideas while ^^viewer through the cosmos to a nebula’, the nature The best single word I can come up with of which IS a mystery. The basic idea is watching “Tlie Fountain,” and it does a good job of putting those ideas into visuals, which describe “The Fountain” is enigmatic, that the Jackman character(s) is/are trying are worth the price of admission alone. ^nie other words to describe the new film to save the Rachel Weisr character") Darren Aronofsky are: challenging, mad- Queen Isabel of Spain and Izzi Crlo But what I hated about this film was that I *^fiing, spectacular, awkward and surreal. Tommy’s wife. These three interlocking expected more out of Aronofsky than what I I expected the film to compare to “2001: A stories don't unfold with any kind of flow saw. Too much dialogue and time is wasted, W e Odyssey,” and it does, in some ways. Because of the poor nlnf i and the great camera techniques he used in “Pi” and “Requiem for a Dream” are non “It fails on the human level but succeeds ■■TheFoumain’M sM L E gt:?'’’"'"'’ ""^gnificently on a cosmic scale,” said film existent. We don’t get the great characters that '^tic Rober Ebert of “2001.” The film ^visuals ,t giyes One Amg iX we saw in his previous fihns. Jackman and ''ôuld become one of Ebert’s top 10 movies •Tlie Fountain a OiiMph i„ Weisz are merely OK. True, Ellen Burstyn and Mark Margolis have their roles, but they 3ll time. ■n* scenes with Tbra in the sphere are ll« S “The Fountain” is no “2001,” but it fails But there’s more to them than meets the e ^ too, are wasted here. And finally, at the film’s end, I was let down against my will. succeeds in similar ways. The differ- According to the Internet Movie I would suggest, if you have not seen any is that “ 2001” was not trying to suc Database, a vast majority of the special of Aronofsky’s films, you should see this k'd on the “human” level, and The effects were done without computer g e n ^ t film at least once. And if you have seen one ^•intain” tries too hard and fails. ed imagery. Instead, Aix>nofsky one of or both of his earlier films, only see this one . There’s not a clear plot or characters, today’s most innovative direct(^rs, used I courtesy MCT Campus if you won’t be depressed by the fact that it that matter. There are story lines that microphotography of chemical reaction* do the effects. ^ ” Hugh Jackman plays three different men relies on some of the same unremarkable ^''clude Thomas (Hugh Jackman) as a ^3pped in the same essential conflict. filmmaking techniques as most of our lesser ^'*nish warrior soon after the discovery of What I liked most about this film. apart t X d the Gênof Eden. f«."> 1'= effects, the ide’as';;; directors, although the visuals are amazing. just an illusion? ^ Tommy cL (same «*or, slightly dif- '"'body. The fii„ As I said before, the film can only be name) trying to find a cure for brain presents questions like: Is reincarnation These ideas were first presented to me in described as an enigma. "^cer in the present day and Tom (again real or just a poetic way of describing a wonderful film called “Waking Life,” '^ c h asked a whole array of questions V d by Jac^^Tn some kind of what collective memory is? Is time real or Contact Andrew Prince at ®oout life and the purpose of life. I was [email protected] or 278-7247..

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